- Thoughtful Design
- Good Storage Size
- Unique
- Comfortable
Pretty but cutting corners
I'll start by saying this is my 3rd Caraa backpack and I have well over a dozen other Caraa products, purchased over the last 8 years. I have a dark blue medium Stratus from the early days and I absolutely love it for traveling. I've been waiting a very long time for a large Stratus to come out in pink so I was delighted Mesa Rose was finally released! The color is great and it will be perfect for longer flights and international travel. Because I have been a long time buyer of this brand and know what they're capable of, here's the critical part of my review. While there are some "upgrades", overall I see cost cutting measures reflected on the bag. The bottom is no longer full leather with mesh air vent corners; instead it's the regular backpack material with little leather discs I guess meant to be feet, which doesn't quite make sense. There is a leather panel at the top back of the pack but that doesn't seem nearly as necessary. Despite still being in the product description, this new generation does not have an internal key leash, which was one of my favorite features (RIP). In fact, the key leash is my favorite in any bag. It's nice that the laptop compartment is now accessible from an exterior compartment, but I was surprised that they didn't think to make a false bottom, especially with the lack of leather bottom for protection. I also miss the easy access side zip but realize that had to be sacrificed when the exterior laptop compartment was introduced. All that said,…
